dress1012

Hundreds of mourners, including more than 30 Marines in dress-blue uniforms, attended this morning's funeral service for Lance Cpl. Jared Verbeek at Visalia Nazarene Church. Verbeek, 22, was killed June 21 in Afghanistan's Helmand province when a homemade bomb exploded while he was on patrol. The 45-minute service began at 10 a.m. at the church. Burial will follow at Visalia District Cemetery. The hearse bearing Verbeek's body arrived at the church several minutes before 10, saluted by a group of Marines that escorted the casket into the church. Marines presented the family Verbeek's Purple Heart medal. Verbeek's father, Travis Verbeek, said his son was a person of strong beliefs, including "the day you pass on is the day you were supposed to die." Verbeek graduated from Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia in 2007 and joined the Marines a few months later. He was assigned to a military police unit engaged in training local forces and was a member of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton. He is survived by his wife Vanessa and their 18-month-old son Jacob, parents Travis and Rosalia Verbeek of Visalia, aunts and uncles and 32 cousins.Celebrating the sacred union of marriage happens in a very unique way in Kuwait. The wedding night is no longer the night for celebrating two people bringing their lives together. Somewhere along the line, this festival of holy matrimony has turned into a meat market for women. The amount of horrific and hilarious stories you can hear about the spectacle that is the process of engagement and marriage are endless.